Yes, Personhood Would Ban IVF – And Here’s How

I know I’ve been writing about personhood a lot lately. It’s an issue not only important to me as a woman, but as a member of the infertility community. In fact, it should be an issue to every member of the infertility community, because personhood directly impacts our ability to get the fertility treatments we need to build our families.

Everyone seems to think that personhood is squarely focused on trying to outlaw abortion, and while that’s largely true, the infertility community gets caught up in this, too. The (il)logic of personhood is in direct conflict with the science and practice of IVF.

If personhood becomes law in North Dakota and Colorado tomorrow, IVF can no longer be safely or ethically performed in either state.

This isn’t speculation – this is fact.

I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Kristen Cain, MD and reproductive endocrinologist practicing in Fargo, ND. She’s one of only four REs in the entire state, and if personhood’s Measure 1 gets passed by voters tomorrow, she and her colleagues must close up shop and leave the state.

Here is exactly how personhood measures would ban IVF:

Personhood Ignores Medical Guidelines and Patients’ Rights

Under personhood, doctors wouldn’t have the option to discard any embryos with abnormalities or defects; worse still, patients may not have the right to refuse the transfer of all their embryos at once, placing patients at risk for multiple births.

Personhood Threatens Patient Safety

Proponents of personhood argue the simplest way to avoid criminal liability for discarding embryos is to create fewer embryos in the first place by retrieving fewer eggs from the patient… OHSS is a potentially life-threatening condition resulting when a woman’s ovaries produce too many eggs; leaving any eggs within the ovaries during IVF puts a patient at greater risk of developing OHSS.”

Personhood Throws Already Cryopreserved Embryos in Legal Limbo

Even if patients wanted to transfer their frozen embryos to another state where personhood wasn’t law, the legality of moving those embryos from one facility to another is also thrown into question. “Infertility patients transferring embryos out of state could be accused of trafficking humans across state lines,” Cain warns.

Standards of Care Associated With IVF Become Liable for Murder

“We suddenly go from an accusation of misconduct to murder. We’re not prepared to face a murder conviction every time an embryo dies in culture.”

Folks – this is no joke. You can read my full interview with Dr. Cain here on Medium. If you live in Colorado or North Dakota, vote #No2Personhood (specifically, No to Colorado Amendment 67 and No on Measure 1 in North Dakota). If you have friends, family, or colleagues in either state – tell them to do the same. Spread the word on social media. Get the word out.

We either mobilize or we get mowed over — the time to act is now.